Level 1: Foundations of Complex Writing
Level 2: Expanding Sentence Range
Level 3: Cohesion and Flow
Level 4: Advanced Structures
Level 5: Mastery and Exam Practice
Subject-Verb Agreement with Complex Subjects
Master SVA when the subject is separated from the verb by prepositional phrases, relative clauses, or other interrupting elements.
3 lessons · 18 exercises
Lessons
3SVA with Intervening Phrases
5 exercises · 25 min
Key structures
Subject + of-phrase + verb (verb agrees with SUBJECT, not the noun in the phrase)
Subject + as well as/along with + noun + verb (verb agrees with the first subject)
In academic writing, sentences often become long and complex. The subject of a sentence can be separated from its verb by several words — sometimes an entire line of text. When this happens, many writers lose track of the original subject and accidentally match the verb to the wrong noun. This is one of the most frequent grammar errors that examiners notice in IELTS and PTE writing tasks.
The key rule is simple: the verb must agree with the head noun of the subject — the main noun — not with the noun closest to the verb.
Consider this sentence: "The effect of repeated droughts on agricultural productivity is significant." The head noun is "effect" (singular), not "droughts" (plural) or "productivity" (uncountable). So the verb is "is," not "are."
There are several common patterns where intervening phrases cause confusion:
1. "Of" phrases are the most frequent trap. "A collection of essays was published." The noun after "of" (essays) is plural, but the head noun (collection) is singular.
2. Phrases like "along with," "together with," "as well as," and "in addition to" do NOT create a compound subject. "The director, along with the cast, was present." The verb agrees with "director" (singular), not "cast." If you had used "and" instead of "along with," the subject would be compound and the verb would be "were."
3. A particularly important distinction: "A number of students are struggling" (plural — it means "several students") versus "The number of students is increasing" (singular — it refers to the quantity itself). Many students confuse these two expressions.
Why does this matter for your score? In IELTS Grammatical Range and Accuracy, and in PTE's grammar scoring, SVA errors in complex sentences are counted as frequent errors. Eliminating them is one of the fastest ways to move from Band 5.5 to Band 6.5 or 7.
The impact of rising sea levels on coastal communities is projected to intensify over the coming decades.
The head noun is "impact" (singular), which governs the verb "is projected." The intervening prepositional phrase "of rising sea levels on coastal communities" contains two plural nouns ("levels," "communities"), but neither controls the verb. This is a typical academic sentence where the "of" phrase creates distance between subject and verb, making it a common source of errors.
The minister, as well as her senior advisors, was questioned by the parliamentary committee on the matter.
The subject is "the minister" (singular). The phrase "as well as her senior advisors" adds supplementary information but does not create a compound subject. The verb "was" correctly agrees with "minister." If the writer had used "and" instead of "as well as," the subject would be compound and the verb would be "were." The commas around the phrase help signal that it is parenthetical.
A growing body of evidence supports the view that early childhood education has lasting effects on cognitive development. The results of longitudinal studies conducted across multiple countries confirm that children who attend pre-school programmes demonstrate stronger literacy outcomes. However, the number of children with access to quality early education remains low in many developing nations.
Three distinct SVA decisions are visible in this paragraph. "A growing body... supports" — "body" is the head noun (singular), despite "evidence" being uncountable. "The results... confirm" — "results" is the head noun (plural), correctly governing the verb despite the long modifying phrase. "The number... remains" — "number" is the head noun (singular), distinct from "a number of" which would take a plural verb. This paragraph demonstrates how academic writing routinely separates subjects from verbs with extended phrases.
(The head noun is "effects" (plural), not "biodiversity" (uncountable). The verb must agree with the subject, not the nearest noun.)
("Together with" does not create a compound subject. The verb agrees with "the teacher" (singular). Only "and" would make the subject compound.)
("Rate" is the head noun (singular). The prepositional phrase "of unemployment in the region" does not change the number of the subject.)
("Along with" does not make the subject plural. The verb agrees with "professor" (singular). This error is especially common among speakers of languages where additive phrases create compound subjects.)
Exercises
The effects of globalisation on local cultures is widely debated in academic circles.
The manager, along with the employees, are responsible for meeting the quarterly targets.
The discovery of new species in the Amazon rainforest have excited the scientific community.
The students, in addition to the teaching staff, was required to attend the safety briefing.
1. The principal approved the new curriculum.
2. The department heads also approved the new curriculum.
1. The study examined the long-term effects of screen time.
2. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Sydney.
1. Student performance has improved significantly.
2. The quality of teaching has contributed to this improvement.
1. The report recommends a series of policy changes.
2. Several leading economists contributed to the report.
SVA with Indefinite Pronouns and Collective Nouns
5 exercises · 25 min
Key structures
Each/Every + singular noun + singular verb
The majority of + plural noun + plural verb
The government + singular verb (in British English, collective nouns can take plural)
When you write academic essays, you frequently need to refer to people in general ("everyone," "nobody"), to groups ("the government," "the committee"), and to quantities ("most," "the majority"). Each of these categories has its own SVA rules, and getting them wrong is a quick way to lose accuracy points.
Indefinite pronouns like everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, anyone, anybody, no one, nobody, each, every, either, and neither are always grammatically singular, even when they feel like they refer to multiple people. "Everyone has the right to education" — not "have." "Each of the experiments was carefully designed" — not "were." The temptation to use a plural verb is strong because the context often implies plurality, but the grammar rule is firm: these pronouns are singular.
Collective nouns — words like team, government, committee, majority, family, group — present a genuine grey area. In American English, these almost always take a singular verb. In British English, which is the standard for IELTS, collective nouns can take either singular or plural verbs depending on whether you emphasise the group as a single unit or its individual members. "The government has announced a new policy" (the group acting as one). "The government are divided on the issue" (the members disagree). For exam purposes, using the singular form is safer and never wrong, so default to it unless you have a clear reason to emphasise individual members.
The phrase "a number of" always takes a plural verb ("A number of factors contribute to this trend"), while "the number of" takes a singular verb ("The number of applicants has risen sharply"). This distinction appears frequently in IELTS Task 2 essays and PTE Write Essay responses.
Finally, the construction "there is / there are" must agree with the noun that follows, not with "there." "There are several reasons for this" — not "There is several reasons." This error is extremely common in timed writing and is immediately noticeable to examiners.
These rules matter because IELTS Band 7 Grammatical Range requires "frequent error-free sentences." If your indefinite pronouns and collective nouns keep producing agreement mistakes, you will not reach that threshold even if your sentence structures are sophisticated.
Each of the participating universities has submitted a detailed report on graduate employment outcomes.
"Each" is an indefinite pronoun that is always singular, regardless of the plural noun "universities" in the "of" phrase. The verb "has submitted" correctly matches the singular subject. Many students incorrectly write "have submitted" because "universities" feels plural, but the grammatical subject is "each," not "universities."
The committee has reached a unanimous decision regarding the proposed changes to the assessment framework.
"Committee" is a collective noun taking a singular verb in this context, where the group acts as a single entity. In British English, "have reached" would also be acceptable if the emphasis were on individual disagreement among members, but the singular form is the safer and more common choice in formal academic writing, particularly in an exam.
There are several factors that contribute to the decline in bee populations worldwide. Nobody disputes the severity of the crisis, yet very little has been done to address it. The majority of conservation programmes focus on habitat restoration, but a number of scientists argue that pesticide regulation is equally important.
This paragraph demonstrates four distinct SVA patterns. "There are" correctly matches "several factors" (plural). "Nobody disputes" — "nobody" is singular despite referring to people in general. "The majority of conservation programmes focus" — "the majority of" + plural noun takes a plural verb. "A number of scientists argue" — "a number of" acts as a quantifier meaning "several" and takes a plural verb. Each pattern requires its own rule, but all appear regularly in academic writing.
("Everyone" is an indefinite pronoun that always takes a singular verb, even though it refers to multiple people. The prepositional phrase "in the class" does not change the number of the subject.)
("There" is not the grammatical subject — it is an expletive (placeholder). The real subject is "challenges" (plural), so the verb must be "are.")
("The number of" refers to a quantity and takes a singular verb. Do not confuse it with "a number of" (which means "several" and takes a plural verb).)
("Nobody" is an indefinite pronoun and is always singular. The prepositional phrase "on the committee" does not change the number of the subject.)
Exercises
The government are planning to introduce new regulations on data privacy next year.
A number of research has confirmed the link between poor diet and chronic illness.
There is considerable differences in opinion between the two political parties.
A number of evidence suggests that urban green spaces improve mental health outcomes.
Write about the challenges facing public healthcare systems, using at least three of the specified SVA structures.
SVA in Relative Clauses and Complex Sentences
4 exercises · 25 min
Key structures
Noun + who/which/that + verb (verb agrees with the antecedent noun)
What + singular/plural verb + is/was + complement (depends on the complement)
Relative clauses — those beginning with who, which, that, whose — add detail and complexity to your sentences, which is exactly what examiners reward at Band 7 and above. However, they also create another layer of SVA difficulty. The verb inside the relative clause must agree with the noun the clause describes (the antecedent), and the verb of the main clause must agree with the main subject. When a sentence has multiple clauses, you need to track agreement separately in each one.
Consider this sentence: "The student who studies consistently achieves higher marks." Both "studies" and "achieves" are singular because both agree with "the student." Now change it: "The students who study consistently achieve higher marks." Now both verbs are plural. The trap is mixing them up — writing "The student who study consistently" because your eye catches a nearby plural or because you lose track during a long sentence.
With which and that, the same rule applies: "The report that was released yesterday confirms the findings." But: "The reports that were released yesterday confirm the findings." The verb inside the clause matches the antecedent (report/reports), and the main verb matches the main subject.
A particularly tricky construction involves what clauses. In "What is needed is more research," both verbs are singular because the complement ("more research") can be treated as a single concept. However, in "What are needed are more resources and better training," both verbs are plural because the complement is plural. The rule: match the verb to the complement when the complement clearly determines the number.
The biggest practical challenge is maintaining SVA accuracy across long sentences with multiple clauses. When you are writing a 35-word sentence with two relative clauses and a main clause, it is easy to lose track. The strategy is to isolate each subject-verb pair and check it independently. If you have time during the exam, read each clause on its own to verify its agreement before finalising the sentence.
This skill connects directly to the self-editing protocol you will practise in Unit 5. Spotting SVA errors in complex sentences is the highest-priority item on that checklist.
The policy that was introduced last year aims to reduce carbon emissions by 30 per cent over the next decade.
The relative clause "that was introduced last year" describes "the policy" (singular), so the clause verb "was introduced" is singular. The main verb "aims" also agrees with "the policy." Both subject-verb pairs are correctly singular. The sentence demonstrates how a relative clause adds information without disrupting agreement, provided the writer tracks the antecedent.
Students who complete the preparatory course consistently outperform those who do not, particularly in the areas of critical thinking and academic writing.
The antecedent "students" is plural, so the relative clause verb "complete" and the main verb "outperform" are both plural. The parallel structure "those who do not" also correctly uses the plural pronoun "those" with the implied plural agreement. This sentence shows how relative clauses can be used symmetrically to create sophisticated academic comparisons.
What the researchers discovered was unexpected. The data, which had been collected over a ten-year period, revealed patterns that had not been previously documented. The findings suggest that climate variables, rather than economic factors, are the primary driver of migration — although each case requires individual analysis.
This paragraph demonstrates several agreement patterns. "What the researchers discovered was unexpected" — the "what" clause is treated as singular, taking "was" (the complement "unexpected" is adjectival). "The data... revealed" — in modern academic English, "data" is typically treated as plural, taking "revealed" and later "suggest." "Patterns that had not been documented" — "patterns" (plural) controls the clause verb. "Each case requires" — "each" is singular. The paragraph shows how agreement must be tracked across multiple clauses within a single paragraph.
(Both the relative clause verb and the main verb must agree with "the report" (singular). "Which highlights" (singular to match "report") and "was published" (singular to match "report").)
(When the complement ("a more comprehensive approach") is singular, the "what" clause verb should also be singular. Both verbs in this construction should match.)
(The antecedent "students" is plural, so both the relative clause verb ("are preparing") and the main verb ("need") must be plural. The error likely occurred because the writer lost track of the subject across the length of the sentence.)
Exercises
The students who attend evening classes tend to perform better in their examinations. This is partly because the lecturers who teach these classes are often the most experienced members of the academic staff. The support that is available to evening students, including access to tutoring services and extended library hours, contributes significantly to their success. What makes this programme particularly effective is the flexibility that it offers to working adults who need to balance study with professional responsibilities.
1. In sentence 1, identify the antecedent of "who" and explain why "attend" is the correct verb form.
2. In sentence 2, could "who teach" be replaced with "who teaches"? Explain why or why not.
3. In sentence 3, why is "contributes" singular despite the sentence being long and containing additional phrases?
4. In sentence 4, explain why both "makes" and "is" are correct in "What makes this programme particularly effective is the flexibility..."
Write three sentences about technology and education, each containing at least one relative clause with correct subject-verb agreement.
Students who is enrolled in the programme has access to a wide range of learning resources. There is many reasons why this programme has been successful. The lecturers that teaches the core modules are highly experienced, and everyone who attend their classes has praised the quality of instruction. The number of graduates who secure employment after completing the course are rising steadily.
Unit Assessment
4Test your understanding of this unit before moving on.
The effects of urbanisation on mental health is only beginning to be understood by researchers.
Each of the proposals have been evaluated by an independent committee of experts.
The student who consistently perform best are those who manage their time effectively.
What are needed is greater investment in renewable energy infrastructure worldwide.
Education have become increasingly important in the modern global economy. The number of students who enrol in university courses are growing every year. There is many reasons for this trend, including the fact that employers, along with governments, has recognised the value of higher education. The research which have been conducted on this topic suggest that graduates earn significantly more than non-graduates over their lifetimes. Everyone who complete a degree programme benefit from improved career prospects and higher earning potential.